Weapons of terror

Judith Reppy, professor of science and technology studies and associate director of the Program in Peace Studies, addresses the audience during the panel "The Weapons of Terror," Sept. 12. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Bill Steele

In the panel discussion on "The Weapons of Terror" Sept. 12, Kathryn Boor, associate professor of food science, summed up her view with a quote from former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala: "We must not panic, but we must be aware." Boor, along with Donald Schlafer, professor of comparative reproductive pathology, and Judith Reppy, professor of science and technology studies, outlined possible terrorist threats to the American people, their farms and their food supplies. The discussion was moderated by W. Kent Fuchs, dean of the College of Engineering.

Direct attacks, Reppy said, might use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, aimed not only to cause death but also to create widespread panic. Nuclear possibilities, she said, might include: the so-called "dirty bomb," which would disperse low-level radioactive material; sabotage of a nuclear power facility to produce that same result; the theft of a tactical nuclear weapon; or assembly of a crude nuclear bomb inside a city. The last, she said, is something governments have overlooked because there would be no reason for a nuclear-armed nation to use such an approach; but now, she said, we are dealing with "a different kind of enemy." Countermeasures, she said, include improved protection of nuclear materials, treaties to eliminate tactical nukes, funding for Russian disposal of nuclear materials and improved technology to detect hidden radioactives.

Schlafer outlined the possibility of an attack on the U.S. food supply by the spreading of disease among farm animals or plants. America's 98 million cattle, 60 million swine, 1.5 billion poultry and domestic pets are vulnerable because they constantly are being moved around, he said, so a single infected animal will rapidly come in contact with many others, causing a pyramid of infection.

Boor said that the food supply might also be attacked by introducing toxins or disease-causing organisms somewhere in the vast network of processing and distribution. She added, however, that she does not think the food supply is a prime target. The most dangerous pathogens, she explained, are difficult to transmit, while agents that can spread easily don't have serious effects, she explained.

Both Boor and Schlafer pointed to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Act, passed in June, as an important countermeasure and added that the safeguards and disease-tracking mechanisms it created are of general benefit to public health, citing rapid response to the West Nile virus as an example.